{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,19]],"date-time":"2026-08-19T17:57:26Z","timestamp":1787162246158,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":59,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"18","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,9,8]],"date-time":"2021-09-08T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1631059200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJERPH"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Among implanted children with similar duration of auditory deprivation and clinical history, the morpho-syntactic skills remain highly variable, suggesting that other fundamental factors may determine the linguistic outcomes of these children, beyond their auditory recovery. The present study analyzed the morpho-syntactic discrepancies among three children with cochlear implant (CI), with the aim of understanding if morpho-syntactic deficits may be characterized as a domain-specific language disorder. Method: The three children (mean age = 7.2; SD = 0.4) received their CI at 2.7, 3.7, and 5.9 years of age. Their morpho-syntactic skills were evaluated in both comprehension and production and compared with 15 age-matched normal-hearing children (mean age = 6.6; SD = 0.3). Results: Cases 1 and 2 displayed a marked impairment across morphology and syntax, whereas Case 3, the late-implanted child, showed a morpho-syntactic profile well within the normal boundaries. A qualitative analysis showed, in Cases 1 and 2, language deficits similar to those of normal hearing children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD). Conclusions: We suggest that a severe grammatical deficit may be, in some implanted children, the final outcome of a concomitant impairment to the language system. Clinical implications for assessment and intervention are discussed.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph18189475","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,9,8]],"date-time":"2021-09-08T10:12:03Z","timestamp":1631095923000},"page":"9475","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":6,"title":["Morpho-Syntactic Deficit in Children with Cochlear Implant: Consequence of Hearing Loss or Concomitant Impairment to the Language System?"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"18","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4067-7580","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Erika","family":"Benassi","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 42122 Reggio Emilia, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sonia","family":"Boria","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center for the Diagnosis, Treatment and Study of Communication and Socialization Disorders, NPIA, AUSL of Parma, 43125 Parma, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Maria Teresa","family":"Berghenti","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, 43126 Parma, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Michela","family":"Camia","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 42122 Reggio Emilia, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Maristella","family":"Scorza","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 42122 Reggio Emilia, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Giuseppe","family":"Cossu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Medical Centre of Phoniatrics, 35142 Padova, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,9,8]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"Knoors, H., and Marschark, M. 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